Skiing
by SiriuslyinLovewithSirius
Summary: Please don’t get us tangled up in the disturbing activities of Muggles!” James whined, also staring at his feet in a disbelieving manner.' Lily forces her friends to indulge in Muggle activities. J/L S.B/D.ME


Sirius stared doubtfully at his feet.

"Uh, Lily, I wasn't serious when I said I wanted to try this," he said impatiently, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

Lily laughed, standing beside Sirius. "Oh Sirius, toughen up! Muggles do it all the time, it'll be really fun!"

"It doesn't look fun."

"It _is_, you just need to give it a chance," Lily assured him. Beside her, her boyfriend, James Potter was also looking terrified.

"Lily, I never even said I wanted to try this! Please don't get us tangled up in the disturbing activities of Muggles!" James whined, also staring at his feet in a disbelieving manner.

From Sirius' other side Lily's best friend, Dorcas Meadowes, piped up. "Lily, I don't see why I'm being punished because Black insulted one of your favourite Muggle activities," she complained, her eyes shut tightly as though she refused to accept her surroundings.

Lily clicked her tongue impatiently. "You pure-bloods are such cry babies!" She muttered. "Now, I explained the mechanics to you, I helped you get your gear on, I even gave you your wands to put in your pockets in case you felt you needed them. So help me, if the three of you don't do this with me I will snap your wands in two and force you to live as Muggles!"

There was silence from her three best friends.

"I'm too scared!" Sirius finally burst out, looking around wildly as though someone would help him. "SOMEONE HELP ME DOWN FROM HERE PLEASE!"

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, it's just a bloody hill! Could you relax, _please_?"

"I'm with Sirius," Dorcas and James chimed in, simultaneously.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I endured Wizard's Chess with you three, almost having a heart attack when I first saw one of the players attack another. I watched two of you transform into animals (illegally, I might add), and fainted the first time I noticed a portrait at Hogwarts speaking to me. I had to get accustomed to hundreds of owls circling our heads every breakfast, and was forced to ride on a broomstick for hours and hours while we played two-on-two Quidditch in my _own_ backyard. You all found it quite humorous, watching me adapt to the wizarding world, and you are finally getting your comeuppance. I will say this for the final time: SKI DOWN THE BLOODY HILL!"

James and Sirius kept their gaze firmly on their feet. "I just don't see how these long yet very thin pieces of wood are supposed to support me while I free-fall down this ridiculously steep mountain," Sirius finally said.

"They will; like I said, Muggles do it _all_ the time," Lily said patiently, rubbing her temples.

"And – and there's never been any accidents?" Dorcas asked in a small voice, finally opening her eyes and clutching tightly on to the strange poles she had in her hands.

Lily hesitated, and three pairs of eyes snapped to her face, looking fearful.

"Well, accidents can happen anywhere – " she started helplessly, but that seemed to be the final straw for her friends.

"I am _not_ going to die because Muggles like to take unnecessary risks with their lives!"

"These strips of wood are so feeble! They wouldn't even hold my house-elf!"

"What are these poles even for?! I'm going to die, I know it, I just know it!"

Lily groaned and, seeming to admit defeat, bent over as if she were unhooking her own feet from her skis.

"If I'd known you guys were going to be this whiny about it, I wouldn't have bothered!" She snapped. James, Sirius and Dorcas immediately stopped talking.

"Really?" They asked timidly.

Smirking, Lily straightened up, now holding her wand. "No," she replied, and with a flourish of her wand, her three friends felt an unmistakeable push on their backs. The skis their feet were so tightly attached to began to move forward slowly, and they began to scream as though their lives depended on it.

"LILY! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! I WON'T COME 'ROUND THE HOUSE AS MUCH, HONEST. YOU NEVER HAVE TO PLAY QUIDDITCH AGAIN!" Sirius shrieked in an extremely high-pitched voice, clutching his poles and trying valiantly to walk backwards while his feet were still strapped to the skis.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," Dorcas shouted from his other side, her eyes popping as she stared down the mountain.

"No Lily, no, no, no, no!" James shouted, losing his head completely and dropping his poles so he could put his hands over his eyes.

"Lean your bodies from side to side and go down the hill in a zigzag pattern, alright?" Lily hollered over their screams. "I'll meet you at the bottom!" With that, she waved her wand once more, and her three friends shot down the hill, screaming the entire time.

Dorcas, not knowing what to do with her ski poles, held them high over her head, swaying her hips randomly to attempt Lily's advice on creating a zigzag pattern. She was screaming indiscernible words at the top of her lungs, and felt as though she would fall over and tumble down the hill at any moment. By some miracle, she managed to stay upright, and was able to come to a complete stop at the bottom of the hill, falling immediately to her knees and kissing the flat ground.

Sirius had somehow ended up with his ski poles hoisted over his shoulders. He was wriggling his bum in a desperate attempt to "lean his body" or whatever the hell Lily had been talking about, and was muttering to himself over and over. He was making very little progress with his "zigzag pattern", although the movements he was making proved to be effective, as he stayed on his skis the entire way down. Unfortunately, Sirius had completely forgotten how to stop, and crashed in to Dorcas, who was still kissing the ground. He flew over her and remained motionless, sure his heart was beating hard enough that he would die at any moment.

James had gone completely ballistic. Having tossed his ski poles to the side before they had even began to slide down the mountain, he had nothing to hold on to while he skied, and settled for waving his arms like a maniac. He made no attempt in leaning his body and instead shot down the hill in an almost complete straight line, shrieking like a little girl. Even Lily had to admit later that it was a damn miracle that James hadn't fallen, seeing as he had easily been the poorest skier of them all. Although he didn't fall, James was also unsure how to stop, and continued sliding along for several feet, until he was well passed Sirius and Dorcas. Finally coming to a standstill, James body sagged, and he flopped onto his back, skis in the air.

Lily skied gracefully down the hill, laughing and grinning as the wind whipped her face. She made a beautiful track down the mountain and skidded to a stop a few feet in front of Sirius and Dorcas, spraying them with snow.

"Wasn't that fun?!" She hollered, taking off her skis and grinning at her friends.

Dorcas glared at her. "Get these things off my feet!" She screamed, kicking wildly as though the skis were attacking her. Lily walked over and removed Dorcas' skis, then Sirius'.

Sirius leapt to his feet and shifted his weight from each one. "The wooden strips are off! I'm free!" He hollered, dancing about and pulling Dorcas to her feet. Dorcas' legs wobbled dangerously, and she grabbed on to his arm for support.

"Stop prancing around," she gasped. "I can hardly stand."

The two stood quite still, revelling in the fact that the damn wooden strips had finally been removed.

"I can't believe we're still alive," Sirius said in an awe-struck voice.

Dorcas shook her head mechanically. "Me neither. I really thought I was going to die," she said fearfully.

"Me too," Sirius whispered. The two glanced at one another desperately. "I am never "skying" again as long as I live," he vowed. He suddenly glared sternly at Dorcas. "And neither are you!"

Dorcas laughed shakily. "As if I ever would! Lily is absolutely mad, thank goodness we don't let her talk us into every crazy Muggle idea she has."

Sirius nodded fervently and the two, finally feeling their trembling legs could support them, walked over to Lily, who was removing the skis from James' feet while he remained on his back, staring up at the sky.

"You know," Lily said, as Sirius and Dorcas came to stand beside her. "You really weren't bad at all, Dorcas. A few more tries and a little less screaming and I think you could actually be good!"

Dorcas looked mildly pleased with herself but Sirius glowered at her, causing Dorcas to shake her head at Lily. "Doesn't matter, Lils. I'm never getting on skys again as long as I live."

"For the last time: _skis_," Lily said, shaking her head. "And Sirius, you didn't really comprehend the zigzag pattern, although your method seemed to be – er – effective," she said, grinning slightly.

Sirius shrugged. "Don't care. Never again, Lily, never again."

James reached his hands up pathetically, trying to get on to his feet. Lily grabbed his hands and helped him up, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"What about me, love?" James asked sweetly. "Was I any good?"

"Oh! Um, you were fine James, just fine. You really mastered the – erm – stance of a good skier," Lily said hastily, glancing at Dorcas and Sirius imploringly.

Dorcas caught Sirius' eye and the two snickered. James had easily been the worst skier of the group, having done nothing while shooting down the hill other than waving his arms like a madman.

"We should try that again sometime, guys!" He suggested, grinning. "I mean, alright, I was a bit scared at first, but that was actually kind of fun!"

"NO!" Sirius, Dorcas and Lily shouted. James looked taken aback and stared at his girlfriend.

"But I thought I was fine! You said I even had the stance of a good skier!" James retorted defiantly.

"Oh, you do, dear, you do! It's just, skiing is taken very seriously by Muggles and – erm – I just don't know if you would have enough time to practice skiing if you were still playing Quidditch. You would have to give Quidditch up if you wanted to improve your – erm – skills as a skier," Lily invented wildly, arranging her features in to a disappointed expression.

"Oh!" James exclaimed! "Blimey, I'm not giving up Quidditch! Forget that, then. I hope you're not too disappointed, Lily?"

"No, no, I'll survive," Lily responded, smiling serenely. "I'm a bit tired of skiing, now I've tried it again."

"That's good," said James, looking relieved. "Imagine me, Quidditch star, giving up my favorite sport for some crazy Muggle idea? These Muggles take things much too seriously; practising for skiing, I ask you. It wasn't even hard!"

Sirius, Dorcas and Lily pressed their lips together tightly, determined not to say a word. Lily kissed James on the cheek and said, "Let's get home now, shall we? I rather feel like a game of two-on-two Quidditch!"

"Really?" James asked in amazement. "Alright, let's do it! Last one there is a rotten Flobberworm!" With that James grabbed Lily and spun on the spot, Apparating them immediately to their home in Godric's Hollow.

Sirius and Dorcas stood at the bottom of the snowy mountain for a moment, staring at one another.

"He was horrible at skying," Sirius noted.

Dorcas laughed, "I can't believe Lily got that idea out of his head. A couple more times down a hill with those things on his feet and James would have lost several limbs."

The pair chuckled together for a moment. "Shall we head to Lily and James' place, then? Sirius asked, holding out his arm for Dorcas to grab.

"Sure," she answered, grabbing his hand and preparing for Side-Apparition.

In the moment before Sirius turned on the spot Dorcas piped up, "I can't believe we had to do this all because you told Lily Muggles weren't any fun at all and "wouldn't know reckless if it smacked them in the face". You do realize, when she brought up skiing, if you had just kept your mouth shut and not goaded her, complaining that it wasn't a real sport, none of this would have happened? You are _such_ a mangy dog sometimes, Padfoot."

Sirius laughed a booming, deep laugh and Apparated with Dorcas beside him, his laugh still reverberating off the mountainside even though he and Dorcas were now long gone.

**A.N: Okay, I KNOW I should be updating A Rose Among Thorns, but I've been in California for two and a half weeks and just got home tonight! I got this idea while I was away and had to write it out the second I got home. Hopefully this will hold you over for the next two days, by which time the next chapter in A Rose Among Thorns should be up and running. Let me know what you think! It's just supposed to be some humorous, possibly cheesy fluff, so don't take it too seriously! xxx**


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